Black teen Trayon Christian arrested for buying belt at Barneys

Trayon Christian, 19, was arrested after he bought a $360 designer belt because the shop assistant didn't believe he could afford it. Source: Supplied

A SHOP assistant had a black teen cuffed after he splurged $350 on a designer belt thinking he couldnt afford it, even though he had paid for it

"His only crime was being a young black man," his attorney, Michael Palillo, told The New York Post.

Trayon Christian, 19, a NYC College of Technology freshman from Corona, went to the Madison Avenue fashion mecca in April to buy the Salvatore Ferragamo belt from upmarket department store Barneys after saving up his pay from a part-time job at the college.

But as soon as he exited the luxury store, undercover officers grabbed Mr Christian and asked "how a young black man such as himself could afford to purchase such an expensive belt," according to the suit, filed on Tuesday in Manhattan Supreme Court.

A Barneys clerk, who had asked Mr Christian for identification when he bought the belt, called police claiming the purchase was a fraud, the suit says.

Plainclothes detectives hauled Mr Christian off Fifth Avenue and into the local precinct.

There, Mr Christian produced his identification, his debit card from Chase and the receipt with his name on it, the suit states.

"In spite of producing such documentation, Christian was told that his identification was false and that he could not afford to make such an expensive purchase.”

Cops eventually called Chase, which verified that the card belonged to Mr Christian, and they let him go.

Police sources said Mr Christian has no arrest record.

Mr Christian told The Post he returned the belt out of disgust over his treatment by the world-famous clothing store.

"I didn’t want to have anything to do with it," he said, adding that he was first inspired to buy the accessory by Harlem rapper Juelz Santana who wears the Italian designer’s duds.

Mr Christian said he’ll never shop at Barneys again.

He is suing both Barneys and the NYPD for unspecified damages.

Barneys did not immediately comment.

A spokeswoman for the city’s Law Department said she would review the claims once she received the suit.

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